Employment and employment conditions in the current economic crisis in Croatia

Goran Vukšić, Institute of Public Finance, Zagreb, Croatia

AbstractThe goal of this research is to analyze developments in employment and employment characteristics during the current crisis in Croatia. The main findings can be summarized as follows: (1) The primary (aggregate) mode of adjustment to the crisis was a decline in employment. There are, however, considerable differences in adjustment patterns across economic activities. (2) During the crisis, jobs were lost in the, more dynamic, private sector, while the number of jobs in the public sector (entities in state ownership) slightly increased. (3) Economic activities with comparatively larger shares of women in employment have experienced fewer employment cuts and the aggregate employment share of women rose during the crisis, especially in activities with a larger share of public sector workers.(4) There has been a declining share of younger workers during the crisis, justifying policy actions to facilitate their employment. (5) Employees with comparatively lower educational attainment face severe challenges in the labor market, which is a longer term trend, not specific to the crisis period. There are indications that this group of employees enjoys a higher level of protection in the public sector. (6) Analysis also shows a rising significance of more flexible forms of employment: increasing shares of fixed term employees (during the last two observed years), and of part time workers. (7) Working hours do not exhibit any strong trends specific to the crisis, except for the diminishing number of overtime hours per worker.